Kheron Ophion
Legion Badge]] Kheron Ophion, commonly known as "The Coward" within the VIII Legion, was a Line-Captain of the 39th Company of the Night Lords Legion and a member of the Kyroptera during the Horus Heresy. Standing almost as an exceptional figure within a Legion of cutthroats and thieves, Kheron Ophion displayed a level of honour previously unknown within the VIII Legion, a fact many within the Legion saw as an aberration. Ophion's courage and sense of sacrifice would see him rewarded after the disastrous conclusion of the Thramas Crusade, when he lead his Cruiser, the Shroud of Eventide, against the vastly superior forces of the Dark Angels Legion in order to buy his brothers enough time to escape the ambush the I Legion had laid for them. For this sole act of bravery in absence of the Night Lords' Primarch, Konrad Curze, Kheron Ophion was elevated to the ranks of the Kryoptera. Ophion would use this new position to gather enough warriors to lay claim to the Nostramo Sector, in an attempt to rally the scattered elements of the Night Lords in the wake of the Thramas Crusade and join Horus' drive on Terra. In this endeavour, Ophion's forces -- perhaps some 9,000 warriors in total -- clashed with the Ashen Claws, a strong Blackshield force believed to have originated from the Raven Guard Legion. Although no certain proof of his death was found, Kheron Ophion was believed slain. History Born and raised in the gutters of Nostramo, the homeworld of the Night Lords, Kheron Ophion was a Line-Captain of the 39th Company who faithfully served in the Great Crusade for at least seven Terran decades before the Horus Heresy engulfed the galaxy in chaos. During this time, Ophion forged a reputation of solid service, but such stubborn bravery was mostly considered an aberration within a Legion dedicated to practicality and the subtle, if gruesome, prosecution of war. Many of his peers saw him as a flawed being and mocked him deliberately by naming him "the Coward". Ophion's time of glory would come at the end of the Thramas Crusade, as the Dark Angels vented their rage against the unprepared fleet of the Night Lords, catching them in a devastating ambush. Two warships bravely held off the enemy fleet in order to allow many of their brothers to escape the slaughter. The first of them was the Nightfall, the Legion's mighty ''Gloriana''-class Battleship, the flagship of the entire VIII Legion, and the second was the Shroud of Eventide, a simple Cruiser under command of Kheron Ophion. Together, these two vessels turned certain annihilation into mere decimation. This act of bravery saw Ophion promoted to the ranks of the restored Kryoptera, the shadowy council that now ruled the Night Lords in their Primarch's absence. At the head of 9,000 warriors, Ophion headed for the Nostramo Sector, where he intended to rally what scattered formations of the VIII Legion remained after their defeat with the ultimate goal of rejoining the greater war and Horus' final push on Terra. Yet these plans were upset by the arrival of an unexpected foe in the form of the Ashen Claws. Although his current fate is unknown, it is generally presumed that Kheron Ophion was either lost or slain in the fierce battles for the Nostramo Sector, which quickly fell back into chaos and strife. Wargear *'Power Armour' *''The Bloody Aegis'' - The Bloody Aegis was a Power Maul forged from the broken hull fragments of Ophion's first command, the Killing Whisper. The Killing Whisper was destroyed over Pragus when Ophion ordered his ship to hold off an entire Fra'al conclave in order to cover the 67th Expeditionary Fleet's retreat. Awarded by the 67th Expeditionary Fleet's Consul, the Bloody Aegis serves as a personal reminder, a cruel jest and a mark of shame of the cost of such bravery. A brutish piece of craftsmanship, the vicious barbs of serrated ceramite are highly durable and present a dire obstacle to the foe. *'Refractor Field' *'Power Axe' *'Volkite Serpenta' *'Melta Bombs' *'Frag Grenades' *'Krak Grenades' Sources *''The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution'' by Alan Bligh, pg. 254 es:Kheron Ophion Category:K Category:O Category:Chaos Characters Category:History Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Imperial History Category:Night Lords Category:Space Marines